{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Al-Roj refugee camp | native_name = مخيم الروج للاجئين | native_name_lang = ar | settlement_type = Refugee camp | image_skyline = | imagesize = | image_alt = | image_caption = | image_flag = | flag_alt = | image_seal = | seal_alt = | image_shield = | shield_alt = | etymology = | nickname = | motto = | image_map = | map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Syria | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Syria | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_label_position = bottom | mapframe = | coordinates = {{coord|37|03|46|N|42|05|34|E|region:SY-HA|display=inline,title}} | coor_pinpoint = | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Syria}} | subdivision_type1 = Governorate | subdivision_name1 = Al-Hasakah Governorate | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | established_title = | established_date = | founder = | seat_type = | seat = | parts_type = Control | parts_style = para | p1 = {{flag|Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria}} | government_footnotes = | governing_body = | leader_party = | leader_title = | leader_name = | leader_title1 = | leader_name1 = | leader_title2 = | leader_name2 = | leader_title3 = | leader_name3 = | leader_title4 = | leader_name4 = | unit_pref = Metric | area_footnotes = | area_urban_footnotes = | area_rural_footnotes = | area_metro_footnotes = | area_note = | area_water_percent = | area_rank = | area_blank1_title = | area_blank2_title = | area_total_km2 = | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | area_urban_km2 = | area_rural_km2 = | area_metro_km2 = | area_blank1_km2 = | area_blank2_km2 = | area_total_ha = | area_land_ha = | area_water_ha = | area_urban_ha = | area_rural_ha = | area_metro_ha = | area_blank1_ha = | area_blank2_ha = | length_km = | width_km = | dimensions_footnotes = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | population_footnotes = | population_as_of = 2021 | population_total = 2,500 | population_density_km2 = | population_note = Primarily displaced persons from Syrian Civil War | population_demonym = | timezone1 = EET | utc_offset1 = +2 | timezone1_DST = EEST | utc_offset1_DST = +3 | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code_type = | area_code = | area_codes = | iso_code = | website = | module = | footnotes = }} The '''Al-Roj refugee camp''' ({{langx|ar|مخيم الروج للاجئين}}), also known as the '''Al-Roj camp''' or simply the '''Roj camp''',<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47867673|title=The women and children no-one wants|first=Quentin|last=Sommerville|work=BBC News|date=12 April 2019|publisher=|access-date=12 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412000202/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47867673|archive-date=12 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ISIS Resurgence in Al Hawl Camp and Human Smuggling Enterprises in Syria: Crime and Terror Convergence? {{!}} Perspectives on Terrorism |url=https://pt.icct.nl/article/isis-resurgence-al-hawl-camp-and-human-smuggling-enterprises-syria-crime-and-terror |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=pt.icct.nl}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Hejmareke zêde ya malbatên DAIŞiyan ji bo Îraqê hatine vegerandin |url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/kmr/story/580942/Hejmareke-z%C3%AAde-ya-malbat%C3%AAn-DAI%C5%9Eiyan-ji-bo-%C3%8Eraq%C3%AA-hatine-vegerandin |access-date=23 December 2024 |publisher=K24}}</ref> is a refugee camp in northern Syria, close to the Syria-Iraq border. Like the former Al-Hawl refugee camp, which was larger, it holds individuals displaced from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, who are held captive at the camp by the Syrian Democratic Forces.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-24 |title=The Al Hol, Roj Camps and Syrian Detention Complex: Cruel and Dangerous Foreign Policy {{!}} Norwich University |url=https://www.norwich.edu/topic/all-blog-posts/al-hol-roj-camps-and-syrian-detention-complex-cruel-and-dangerous-foreign-policy |access-date=2026-01-17 |website=www.norwich.edu |language=en}}</ref>
As highlighted on the Global Peace Index 2025, the camp is considered a significant source of stability for the ISIL group, as thousands of radicalized fighters and family members held within these sites facilitate the organization's persistence through recruitment and ongoing guerrilla operations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Peace Index |url=https://www.economicsandpeace.org/global-peace-index/ |access-date=2026-01-17 |website=Institute for Economics & Peace |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Background == Originally established in 2014 to accommodate Iraqi refugees, Roj camp in northeastern Syria underwent an expansion in 2020 to facilitate transfers from the larger al-Hawl camp, growing to house over 2,500 residents—primarily children and displaced Syrian families—by 2021.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yuste Martínez |first=Inmaculada |date=2024 |year=2024 |title=Los cachorros del califato y las nuevas prisiones: Campamentos de desplazados internos en Siria |url=https://pjenlinea3.poder-judicial.go.cr/biblioteca/uploads/Archivos/Articulo/Los%20cachorros%20del%20califato%20Yuste.pdf |journal=Revista IIDH |language=Spanish |publisher=Inter-American Institute of Human Rights |volume=78 |issue= |pages=229-293 |issn=1015-5074}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=16 September 2020 |title=Australian families at al-Hawl camp moved by Kurdish authorities |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-17/al-hawl-camp-kurdish-forces-claim-australians-moved-safer-camp/12672494 |access-date=8 February 2022}}</ref>
By late 2023, nearly 100 third-country national families had been relocated to the facility as part of ongoing efforts to manage the region's displaced populations. While international observers, such as former UN Special Rapporteur Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, have noted that living conditions in Roj are marginally better than those in al-Hawl, the camp continues to face significant humanitarian challenges, including restricted access to potable water, medical services, and educational resources.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Five Years After the Caliphate, Too Much Remains the Same in Northeast Syria {{!}} The Washington Institute |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/five-years-after-caliphate-too-much-remains-same-northeast-syria |access-date=2026-01-17 |website=www.washingtoninstitute.org |language=en}}</ref>
Due to widespread financial depletion and harsh environmental conditions, residents often lack basic necessities, prompting large-scale humanitarian interventions. UNICEF—supported by international donors including Canada, Japan, Switzerland, and the European Union—has executed distribution programs providing winter clothing kits to people across the region.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Keeping children in Roj camp warm {{!}} UNICEF Middle East and North Africa |url=https://www.unicef.org/mena/stories/keeping-children-roj-camp-warm |access-date=2026-01-17 |website=www.unicef.org |language=en}}</ref>
It is considered a closed site, meaning individuals cannot leave without permission from camp administrators.<ref name=":0" /> As of 2026, it houses roughly 2,300 people, 60% of whom are children. Almost all the residents are foreign nationals; people there come from 60 different countries. The camp is entirely dependent on aid.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Arraf |first=Jane |date=2026-04-11 |title=Wives and children of foreign ISIS fighters stranded in Syria with no way home |url=https://www.npr.org/2026/04/11/nx-s1-5767032/in-syria-instability-allowed-isis-fighters-to-flee-camps-but-many-of-their-families-still-detained |access-date=2026-05-17 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref>
== Notable refugees == The camp is home to Shamima Begum, a British-born woman who entered Syria to join the Islamic State in February 2015, at the age of 15. Her British citizenship was consequently revoked and she was refused re-entry to the United Kingdom with the decision upheld in the ensuing legal proceedings, ''Begum v Home Secretary''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 July 2020 |title=Royal Court of Justice Judgement |url=https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/WP-Begum-Judgment-NCN.pdf |via=www.judiciary.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Shamima Begum to find out today if she is allowed back in the UK |url=https://news.sky.com/story/shamima-begum-is-about-to-find-out-if-shes-allowed-back-into-the-uk-how-did-she-get-to-this-point-12816397 |access-date=23 February 2024 |website=Sky News}}</ref>
Zahra Halane, a Danish citizen notable for having left her family home in Britain with her twin sister to join the Islamic State, was transferred to a high security section of Al-Roj after trying to escape from the Al-Hawl refugee camp.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 21, 2015 |title=British terror suspect living in Denmark |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/british-terror-suspect-living-in-denmark-115052100174_1.html |work=The Business Standard}}</ref> Zahra and her son have been repatriated to Denmark.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-01-30 |title=Kvinde idømmes fem års fængsel for terrortræning - TV 2 |url=https://nyheder.tv2.dk/krimi/2026-01-30-kvinde-idoemmes-fem-aars-faengsel-for-terrortraening |access-date=2026-05-17 |website=nyheder.tv2.dk |language=da-DK}}</ref>
Ugbad and Rahma Sadiq, two of the earliest Norwegians to voluntarily travel to ISIL territory in Syria, were in Al-Roj. They have since been repatriated.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kurseth |first=Hedda |date=February 6, 2025 |title=Den terrordømde Bærum-søstera anker saka |trans-title=The Bærum sister convicted of terrorism appeals the case |url=https://www.nrk.no/norge/den-terrordomde-baerum-sostera-anker-saka-1.17253836 |website=NRK |language=no}}</ref>
Hoda Muthana, a U.S.-born Yemeni woman who emigrated from the United States to Syria to join ISIL in November 2014. She surrendered in January 2019 to coalition forces fighting ISIS in Syria and has been denied access back to the United States after a U.S. court ruling rejected her claim to American citizenship. The court ruled that when she was born, her father was a Yemeni diplomat, making her ineligible for American citizenship by birth.<ref name=nytimes2019-02-19> {{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/us/islamic-state-american-women.html | title = 2 American Wives of ISIS Militants Want to Return Home | work = The New York Times | author = Rukmini Callimachi, Catherine Porter | date = 2019-02-19 | page = A1 | location = al Hawl Camp, Syria | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20190220173050/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/us/islamic-state-american-women.html | archivedate = 2019-02-20 | url-status = live | quote = Ms. Muthana and Ms. Polman acknowledged in the interview here that many Americans would question whether they deserved to be brought back home after joining one of the world’s deadliest terrorist groups. }} </ref> As of 2026, Hoda lives in Al-Roj with her son.<ref name=":1" />
Gailon Su, a woman from Trinidad and Tobago who claims she was tricked into taking her son Su-lay to Syria by her new husband, Anthony Hamlet.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cottee |first=Simon |date=2021-03-25 |title=The Beauty Queen Who Became an ISIS Bride |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/black-flags-of-the-caribbean-book-extract/ |access-date=2026-05-19 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Repatriation efforts == Russia, Kazakhstan and some countries in eastern Europe have repatriated large numbers of their nationals from Al-Roj. France has taken back a few hundred people.<ref name=":1" />
===Australia=== In early December 2025, ''The Guardian Australia'' reported that the Albanese government had declined an American offer to help repatriate about 40 Australian citizens from camps near the Syrian-Turkish border including Roj camp. These individuals are the wives, widows and children of dead and imprisoned Islamic State fighters. In June 2025, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke had met with Save the Children CEO Mat Tinkler and repatriate advocate Kamalle Dabboussy, who expressed concerns that these individuals were being radicalised. In August 2025, Tinkler and Dabboussy confirmed that the US government had offered to facilitate the repatriation of the 40 Australians. While the Australian government has previously repatriated several nationals from Syria in 2019 and 2022, the Albanese government had declined the American offer due to concerns of a backlash from certain constituents during the lead-up to the 2025 Australian federal election.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Doherty |first1=Ben |date=6 December 2025 |title=Australia refuses to repatriate citizens from Syrian camps despite US warning leaving them there 'compounds risks to all of us' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/dec/07/australia-government-no-plans-repatriate-citizens-syria-us-warning |access-date=9 December 2025 |work=The Guardian Australia}}</ref>
A ''Guardian'' news report from 16 February 2026 stated that 34 Australian families would be released from the camp. Even though there were no criminal charges against the families, they might face charges when landing in Australia. The Australian government said no repatriation efforts were made by them, making it unclear where the families will go.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Christou |first=William |last2=Doherty |first2=Ben |date=16 February 2026|title=Australian women and children released from Syrian detention camp |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/16/australian-women-and-children-released-from-syrian-detention-camp |access-date=16 February 2026|work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> On 17 February, it was reported that Australian government would not repatriate the 34 women and children released from the camp.<ref>{{Cite news|date=17 February 2026 |title=Australia won't repatriate 34 women and children linked to IS from Syria |url=https://apnews.com/article/australia-syria-islamic-state-repatriate-9014cd9b72d4c3121a648cbe0f8b8df4 |access-date=17 February 2026|agency=AP News |language=en}}</ref>
In late April 2026, a group of four Australian women and nine children left the Al-Roj refugee camp and headed to Damascus with the intention of returning to Australia. According to a Syrian official, their repatriation had been delayed by the Australian government for two weeks while they "put procedures in place" to receive the group. On 6 May, the Australian government confirmed that the group had departed Syria and landed in Australia on 7 May.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rollason |first1=Bridget |title=Australian government 'deciding factor' in departure of ISIS-linked families from Syria|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-06/australia-deciding-factor-isis-linked-families-leaving-syria/106650642 |access-date=6 May 2026 |work=ABC News |date=6 May 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260506111415/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-06/australia-deciding-factor-isis-linked-families-leaving-syria/106650642 |archive-date=6 May 2026 |url-status=live}}</ref>
===United States=== In July 17, 2021, former US diplomat Peter Galbraith organized rescue of Amina Bradley, an American orphan who had been hidden by radical ISIL women in Roj Camp. Amina's mother, Ariel Bradley, had taken the child to Syria when she joined the Islamic State. Ariel Bradley, who grew up as an evangelical Christian in Chattanooga, Tennessee before converting to Islam, died in a coalition airstrike in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 August 2021 |title=A Young American Girl Whose Mother Joined ISIS and Died Has Been Rescued, A Former US Diplomat Says |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellievhall/american-aminah-mohamad-ariel-bradley-isis-rescued |website=BuzzFeed News}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
Category:Hasakah District Category:Refugee camps in Syria